As Salesforce’s first Emerging Talent Workforce Development Partner in the UK, Grayce is addressing the widening digital skills gap with a pipeline of diverse, sustainable and scalable talent. 

As Salesforce’s first Emerging Talent Workforce Development Partner in the UK and an official Consulting Partner, Grayce is harnessing emerging talent by offering accredited qualifications, support and real-world work experience over a two year period and beyond. Its high quality, cost effective and low risk approach is a powerful solution to the resourcing challenges so many businesses are currently facing.

“We’re developing certified Salesforce Analysts who can deliver excellence in Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, Tableau CRM, Sales Cloud and more,” continues Laura. “We begin by giving analysts a month’s induction at Grayce, and then they immediately move client-side to gain exposure, support and deliver live projects.”

As a kick-start to getting the Salesforce skills needed, analysts attend a 30 day Trailhead Virtual Bootcamp (TVB). A combination of live instructor hours from a Salesforce certified trainer, weekly email guidance and courses via Trailhead (Salesforce online learning platform), the TVB is a guided route to certification and allows analysts to learn as and when suits them within a defined time frame.

Laura comments: “We see the TVB as the perfect training programme for our analysts to achieve the Admin certification. It’s a flexible and hybrid way of working that gives them access to experts but still lets them work at their own pace, which they really appreciate.”

Another USP of joining Grayce is that every analyst is allocated a delivery manager, who helps with training and performance management. “It’s important to have that long-term support and ensures our analysts add value from day one,” comments Laura. “It helps with every aspect of career planning from an individual’s side, and ensures placements are a success from the client’s side. Some of our analysts work on a series of short-term programmes and deliver across different sectors, while others stay at the same company for the entire duration. Building resilient resourcing pipelines has become a critical concern for businesses so we’re finding that over 60% of our analysts are permanently onboarded at the company they’ve been working for after two years.”

Grayce is committed to broadening access to learning in order to create a more diverse future workforce. Currently, 50% of their analysts are first generation graduates, 50% are female or non-binary, 34% are BAME and 10% are LGBTQ+.

Laura comments: “From a social mobility perspective, our graduates often wouldn’t apply for the kind of FTSE 100 companies we’re able to place them with. It’s absolutely awesome to see them gaining confidence, getting Salesforce certified and starting their careers in exciting, well-known, global brands.”

Tracy Asafo-Adjei is someone who hadn’t previously foreseen a future within Salesforce. After finishing an MSc in International Business Management and travelling to Ghana for her Grandma’s funeral, she was trying to figure out her next steps when a friend suggested she apply to Grayce.

“I don’t have a tech background,” says Tracy, “And, as a new graduate, it was quite intimidating deciding what to do next. I was drawn to Grayce because it provides the opportunity to gain accredited qualifications that are sought after by businesses, gives the support to try different industries and lives by its values of delivering excellence and really caring for young people.”

To begin with, Tracy felt a bit overwhelmed by the expectations of her training. “Initially, the learning targets set for achieving Ranger status (the highest Trailblazer rank you can receive) felt very ambitious, especially as it was all so new to me. However, I hadn’t anticipated how brilliant learning with Trailhead would be.

“Starting with the TVB was the perfect introduction. It breaks down your daily schedule to cover the entire range of topics needed for new admins and prepares you for the exam. The twice-a-week interaction with a Salesforce expert instructor is brilliant, and having a flexible self-paced learning schedule means studying can be done whenever you want. If you are like me and eager to learn and know more, you can finish everything within three to four weeks. I enjoyed the TVB so much and felt so engaged that I soon exceeded my targets. I’ve gained the Admin Certification in less than two months, and am now a Ranger with 55,000 points and 115 badges.”

Tracy feels that the support she has had so far has been key to her success. “My experience has been nothing short of amazing. I feel very supported by Grayce and I’ve also found that, if I’m ever stuck or confused, the online Trailblazer community is incredible. There’s always someone who is able and willing to help you find the answers you need.

“What’s more, the Salesforce ecosystem is undergoing such rapid growth that it’s the right time for me to be part of the community. I’m currently waiting to go on my first client-side placement and know I’ve still got a lot to learn, but it feels like the options for my future are unlimited!”